Igor Stimac Announces 28-member Probable For FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

03.11.2023 - 09:51 sports.ndtv.com

Most of the top guns including Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Sandesh Jhingan figured in the 28-member probable announced by Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac on Friday for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

This is for the first two matches of Round 2 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Preliminary Joint Qualification.

The Blue Tigers are set to face Kuwait in their opening Group A fixture at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City on November 16 before returning home to take on Qatar at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on November 21.

India will travel to Dubai on November 8 for a preparatory camp before the qualifiers. List of 28 probables for matches against Kuwait and Qatar: Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Vishal Kaith.

Football cup qualifiers Igor Stimac Sunil Chhetri Qatar India Saudi Arabia Kuwait

India head coach Igor Stimac said he would not consider the upcoming Asian Cup in Doha as an important tournament as the team is competing in the continental showpiece without a proper national camp, comments which may ruffle the feathers of the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Stimac wanted at least four weeks of national camp ahead of the continent's premier competition which begins on January 12 but with the first phase of the Indian Super League (ISL) continuing till December 29, the clubs are unlikely to release their players for a long training camp.

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India Go Down Fighting, Suffer 0-3 Defeat To Fancied Qatar

India dished out a gritty display but suffered a 0-3 drubbing against dominant Asian champions Qatar in their second match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup second round qualifiers on Tuesday. Qatar would have won by a bigger margin had they not missed several chances while dominating throughout the 90 minutes at the Kalinga Stadium. The visiting side scored through Moustafa Tarek Mashal (4th minute), Almeoz Ali (47th) and Yusuf Adurisag (86th). India, who were seeking inspiration from their famous 0-0 draw against the same opponents four years ago, could barely create scoring chances. They did get a couple of opportunities at the fag end of the first half, but wasted them. Igor Stimac's team is still in contention to finish second in Group A and qualify for the third round for the first time after a 1-0 win over Kuwait in their away match on November 16.

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We Have Nothing To Lose But A Hell Of A Lot To Gain: Igor Stimac On Qatar Match

Head coach Igor Stimac on Monday said that India have nothing to lose but a hell of a lot to gain in their 2026 FIFA World Cup round 2 qualifiers match against Asian champions Qatar on Tuesday. India's 1-0 away win against Kuwait on November 16 will certainly boost their confidence but Stimac made it clear that "Qatar is out of our league", though the home side will seek to take inspiration from their famous goal-less draw against the Asian champions four years ago. "The Kuwait game was the most important game in our qualifiers in this group. We had an away win against our direct opponent for the second spot," Stimac said at the pre-match press conference. "We are very realistic, we know that Qatar is out of our league. But we also know that this is football, the most beautiful game in the world which provides opportunities and this is our opportunity." Stimac urged his players to consider Tuesday's match at the Kalinga Stadium as any other game and give their best.